NOC Recaps iZombie: Dying Under the Influence

This week’s iZombie case of the week was a bit more important to hold onto because it had reveals and ramifications for the story at large. Poor Liv is still reeling from Lowell’s death. When she gets the chance to eat a victim who’s prone to drinking her weight in booze, she takes it up, but the case she catches and Major’s post-Candyman episode threaten to suffocate her.

Also, totes borrowed the recap subtitle from the iZombie Writers twitter, who found it unusable for the actual episode title.

Failed alt titles for tonight's #iZombie episode: Dying Under the InfluenceNo BlainerM.E. and Mr. JonesStory on Page Six Feet Under

After Lowell’s body was found, Liv was taken to interrogation as a suspect in his death. Luckily (and I can’t believe I am saying this), secret zombie Suzuki gets her charges dropped and aims for Lowell’s death to be considered a suicide. Ravi has to co-sign this decision, but only wants to do so with Liv’s blessing (#blessRavi).

Between her grief, having to make the decision to destroy Lowell’s body and not get traditional police justice against Blaine, and the reveal about Major (we’ll get to that in a minute), she’s had enough of dealing with her emotions. When she’s not knee-deep in the case, she’s face-deep in a bottle (that’s probably not a term, but I’m sticking with it).

She does her work drunk and makes irrational decisions, even when she’s right. She goes after the Max Rager people, both because of their recent hand in her victim/dinner’s death, but also because they made her and Lowell that way. If Max Rager hadn’t done their part in creating zombies, she wouldn’t be in the pain that she’s currently in. Liv survives a near death experience and snaps out of it (I guess Rebecca’s just done digesting), allowing Ravi to sign the form. But her resolve to get Lowell is at an all-time high, and this is without the high-octane support of a sniper brain.

Major Mental Maladies

Poor Major thinks he’s going insane, and Clive pushes him to that conclusion. It’s interesting to see a character on TV choose to seek mental health solutions, rather than be forced into it as I feel is often the case. Though, in this case, we know Major is seeing the truth, so it’s a bit muddled. But I feel like this is a good thing, and even makes a minor comment on Major not being able to afford all of the time he might need at Blooming Grove because of its price. Mental health is often not cheap. I wonder if they will expand on this any further.

Anyway, with Julien fine after being shot the night before, Clive convinced Major to seek help. Major heads to Blooming Grove and tells the patients there about what he saw, but stops just short of describing FOZM. But another patient, Scott E (not Scottie), knows what’s up. “This city has a zombie problem.” Uh oh!

Case of the Week Stuff

The reporter Major was chatting with a few weeks ago turns up dead. I guess she went back to her longer story when the missing kids’ bodies turned up. She was attacked in her apartment, the killer breaking into her phone looking for some files. Her story was about Jason Fry, a kid who may have killed a girl the year before after a Max Rager binge turned violent.

Max Rager, if you remember, is the energy drink that a bunch of people had at Liv’s boat party turned zombie parade and one part of the solution Ravi concocted to turn zombie rat into a zombie rat. The company knew about its product’s violent inducing side effects, but covered up a memo that Rebecca had access to. When Liv goes looking for her source, she runs into Vaughn (sleazy Max Rager CEO played by Steven Weber who I know from Studio 60), Adele (his assistant who was one of Rebecca’s sources), and Sebastian (another of Rebecca’s sources, or so he said). Liv tries to work with Adele, but she bolts and they both get knuckle-ring punched by Sebastian.

Seb (are there ever good characters named Sebastian?) takes them on his FunFun boat and tosses poor Adele overboard. He takes a little longer with Liv; he licks up some of her blood before she pops him in the forehead with her zombie adrenaline and throws him overboard. Did Sebastian know that Liv was a zombie? Was his taste for blood a sign of knowledge of zombieism, vampirism (maybe Max Rager and another combo creates vampires?) or just a disgusting habit for blood? Either way, even after Liv runs Seb over with the boat, he lands ashore, full on zombied out. Yikes! Another zombie rogue to add to the bunch!

Brain Teasers

Ravi was such a good friend to both Liv and Major this week. They’d better be there for him should he ever get into trouble (please stay out of trouble Ravi). His loyalty to Major is only second to his loyalty to Liv and it’s interesting to see how fast he comes to trust people.

“I just wanna work, like today’s Tuesday or whatever it is.” Always fun when shows slyly throw in what day of the week they air on.

“Blond, pretty boy, looks like he fell out of a Nicholas Sparks movie?”

Clive thinks Liv’s brains are shrimp.

It was a side note, but the kid Rebecca was looking into, Jason Fry, had his debate team members “prank” him by making him think he went all Hulk and killed a girl. AWFUL! Also sounds like the plot to a horror movie… but if it were, he would’ve killed them all.

“At what point is it worse not telling him than just being honest?” “What’s his move when he finds out he’s eating them?” Liv thinks she’s keeping Major safe, but as Scott E said, “This city has a zombie problem.” He can’t really escape.

“My PR guys are telling the tabloids it’s ‘exhaustion.’ I’ll be doing the view when i get back. I’ll be fine.” Ah, this is why Liv loves him, she enjoys his humor. Also his backrubs.

Reminder: most of the victims, including Liv’s friend Holly, at the Lake Washington Boat Party died in a fire. Or did they?

“I haven’t been an alcoholic long, but the only time I woke up before 10am was because Peyton needed to use the toilet I was passed out on.”

Liv misses a call from Peyton, who we last saw only a few “days” ago (since the episodes have run together with no time in between) as she accepted a date from Ravi. Is this missed call important in the grander scheme of things?

“OW! Mother of Dragons, that hurts!”

Still wondering if Sebastian knew or suspected Liv’s zombieism and wanted to catch it… Does Liv realize he’s alive or was she hoping that running him over with the boat was the final move?

If Liv has no pulse, how does she bleed? Is it just slower than normal people?

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Published by Constance Gibbs

Connie is a writer, editor, podcaster, epic tweeter and TV junkie living in NYC. She currently a writer for TIME for Kids magazine and a writer/editor at Black Girls Create. Before, she was a features writer for the New York Daily News and the TV Editor for Black Girl Nerds. Her other writing has been featured in Shondaland, Polygon, She Knows, The Mary Sue, Hello Giggles, The Nerds of Color, Nerds of Prey, Just About Write, and Bitch Flicks, among others. Follow her on Twitter: @ConStar24
View all posts by Constance Gibbs